On M List of Movie Reviews
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Man in the Middle (1964)
Rate:
9
Viewed:
7/24
7/24:
Before there was Breaker Morant and before there was
A Few Good Men, there was Man in the Middle.
The biggest draw may be the somewhat corpulent Robert Mitchum, but the military courtroom story is riveting with the odds
stacked against his character after I'm past the initial shocking murder scene. Although seemingly shot on location in
India, there have been times that I didn't think the main star was actually there. Another mistake is making France Nuyen's
character a love interest for him because she's patently too young which turns out to be an unhealthy 22-year age
difference.
As for the acting performances, everybody is competent. Robert Mitchum gives his usual intelligent portrayal of a military
man that he's always underrated for. Keenan Wynn does his best imitation of "I'm really that nutso" guilty suspect. But
it's Trevor Howard who steals the picture with his quiet straightforward display of strong British acting. That's when
the theme started to work by winning me over with its presentation of insanity defense.
By the way, it was curious to see the word "Pennebaker" during the opening credits. I say this because that's Marlon
Brando's film company which was named in the honor of his mother's maiden name. Unfortunately, it produced a small
number of movies and was thereafter shut down.
All in all, Man in the Middle is an unknown gem in the genre of courtroom pictures.